SARAH Walker has been forced to pull out of the Badminton World Championships in Copenhagen with an abdominal strain.

The Basildon born 24-year-old was due to take on number five seed – Korean Ji Hyun Sung - in the second round of the competition.

But Walker was unable to take part in the game.

“I have a bad abdominal strain so unfortunately I couldn't take part in the game,” said Walker, who first learnt to play badminton at Hockley's Clements Hall.

“I picked it up at the Commonwealth Games and was able to play through it there.

“I didn't have a lot of time to get it right for Worlds but it actually felt good before I went.”

Walker was therefore able to battle her way through the first round, beating Malaysia's Sannatash Saniru 21-18, 19-21, 21-12 in 56 minutes of action.

The result pleased Walker as Saniru is currently ranked 14 places higher at number 70 in the world.

But the victory came at a cost for Walker. “Unfortunately during my first round I started to feel the injury again and by end of the game it was really painful,” said Walker.

“I tried to recover overnight but when I tested it before my match it was hurting to produce any kind of power in my overhead shots so it was decided I would pull out and get myself ready for the start of next season which for me is the Dutch GP at the beginning of October.”